I have been astonished that such an important piece of legislation should get such little headline or such little public debate (maybe that is yet to come) but it may be too late. The country seems taken up with the recession – and the resultant job losses, cuts in services, dole queues, NAMA, Lisbon Treaty and the current government’s performance (or lack of it, as the case may be). I feel that this important piece of legislation requires far more robust debate and public airing. The very people who will immediately be impacted are those who are Wards of Court in the current system. It is not at all clear how this ‘transfer’ from one type of system to another for these wards will be affected. The Law Reform Commission has recommended this change in legislation which is long overdue, given that the current Lunacy Regulations of 1871 govern the operation of the wards office. However, a recent document I saw which came from government showed the costings for a new Guardianship office versus the current WoC office and the figures and staffing are similar. The new offfice should start from scratch. We need to be clear that the legislation is complaint with the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and we need to be clear who will determine capacity and how. It is currently a one size fits all scenario with those given full responsibility for all the day to day care of the ward, being given no say in any decision making that affects him. And these are amongst the most vulnerable in the country.

I despair of this country doing anything right and this government certainly cannot do anything right. I have no faith in this at all. How can we get public debate opened up about this and make people aware of how much this legislation is going to impact on – not only current wards, but those who will become mentally incapacitated from herein onwards. This can happen very quickly through development of a neurological disorder, mental illness, brain damage and so on.

M Farrell